Light reflecting device



July 6, 1937. .s. s. CRAMER v 2,086,314

LIGHT REFLECTING DEVICE Filed June 24, 1955 IN ENTOR qg ffy 5. 033111422 ATTORNEY Patented July 6, 1937 UNHTED STATES H mm;

LIGHT REFLECT'ING DEVICE Stanley S. C'ramer, Haddon Heights, N. J assignor to Radio Condenser Company, Camden, N. J.

Application June 24, 1935, Serial No. 28,089

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the design of a refleeting unit to be used in connection with street signs which reflect the light directed against them from the lamps of approaching vehicles.

In my application Serial No. 626,489, filed July 30, 1932, now Patent 2,014,558, issued September 17, 1935, I have shown and described a particular construction of sign and certain types of light-reflecting units adapted for use therewith.

It is the principal object of my present invention to provide a reflecting unit for such signs which has certain advantages over the units shown in said patent.

In order to illustrate the application of my new reflecting unit, I have chosen to show it in connection with the sign construction shown in my prior patent previously referred to, and in the drawing:

Figure l is a fragmentary portion of a sign in which one letter of a word is shown, one of my improved units being illustrated in connection with the letter.

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1, a portion being broken away to show the reflecting unit in elevation.

Figure 3 is a sectional View through my improved unit as attached to the mounting of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a rear view of the unit per se minus the retaining cap.

Figure 5 is a view of the bottom of the retaining cap looking at the outside.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view of a modified form of means for holding the reflecting unit casing to a support member.

In the various views of the drawing, l is a mounting plate which may be colored if desired. On the plate I is carried an auxiliary plate 2 which of itself may be fastened in any satisfactory way, as by spot-welding, to the mounting plate I. However, as illustrated in the drawing, the auxiliary plate 2 is fastened to the mounting plate I by means of the reflecting units themselves. The auxiliary plate 2 may be a different color from the mounting plate I and is provided with a plurality of holes 3 to receive a number of the reflecting units to make up the outline of a letter or number.

In my improved form of reflecting unit, the holder or casing 4 has a shoulder 5 which supports a spherically curved reflector 6. Nested in the reflector 9 is a ball or spherical member I of glass, the same being held in its seat by spinning or forcing inwardly the outer edge 8 of the holder or casing 4, it being understood that this inwardly spun portion is located outwardly beyond the center of the ball I. The bottom of the holder or casing 4 has fingers 9 and I0 punched outwardly therefrom and in opposite directions so that they are spaced a considerable distance apart and on opposite sides of vertical and horizontal planes passing through the axis of the casing. The length of the fingers 9 and ll] of course will depend on the diameter of the bottom of the casing 4 and, as illustrated, the slots H formed by punching the fingers extend substantially across the entire bottom of the casing.

The casing 4 has a rim [2 to engage the auxil-' iary plate 2 and after it has been placed in position through the hole 3 in the auxiliary plate 2 and the corresponding hole in the support I, a retaining cap I3, provided with slots or orifices I4 adapted to receive the fingers 9 and I0, is placed in position so that a flange l5 on the cap [3 engages a rear portion of the support plate 1. After the cap l3 has thus been put in position as shown in Figure 3, the ends of the fingers 9 and ID are bent over the bottom of the cap as indicated at l6, thereby securely anchoring the unit to the mounting plate'l and holding the auxiliary plate 2 in position as has been described.

By utilizing this construrction, all of the work may be done on a press, thereby eliminating the tapping of a hole in the casing for use of a screw, etc., as in my prior construction. In addition, not only is the cost of construction reduced, but the cost of assembly is materially reduced. as it will be seen a considerable number of the units may be utilized in a given sign. While Figure 3 shows an outwardly turned flange l5 around the rim of the cap l3, this flange may be irregular just as it comes from the drawing press, as an irregular edge will give a better grip on the main mounting plate I, particularly if this mounting plate is other than metal.

In Figure 6 I have shown a mounting plate which may be of wood or some other material than metal, and hence thicker. In other words, the mounting plate may be of any suitable thickness, and when such a mounting plate is used, I prefer to use a small binding plate I8 of suitable metal which is perforated to receive the bentover ends l6 of the fingers 9 and ill, it being understood that the dimension of the plate I8 is sufficient to cover the hole for the casing 4.

What I claim is: y

1. A structural device for building up indicia I for street signs which includes an integral, as-

in a mounting, said unit consisting of a cupshaped casing having a rim for engaging thesembled unit ready to be passed through a hole in V a mounting, said unit consisting of a cup-shaped casing having a rim for engaging the front of the mounting and carrying a glass ball deeply within the casing, and a reflector near the rim and within which the ball is nested; the bottom of the said casing having a pair of lugs punched outwardly therefrom in spaced relation and a cupshaped retaining cap fitting over said casing and engaging the rear of the mounting, said casing having slots in the bottom thereof to receive said lugs which are adapted to be bent over the bottom of the cap after the casing and cap have been put in position on the mounting.

STANLEY S. CRAMER. 

